Auxiliary power unit for inboard cruisers



Feb. 23, 1965 .1; w. EWING 0,

AUXILIARY POWER UNIT FUR INBOARD CRUISERS Filed April 15, 1963 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 l0 j l2 540mm and Gear Shift n .A h! I INVENIOR John m. Ewing BY S5 ATTORNEYS Feb. 23, 1965 J. w. EWING 3,170,434

AUXILIARY POWER UNIT FOR INBOARD CRUISERS Filed April 15, 1963 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR Jalm W Ewmg BYM,M-

ATTORNEYS United States Patent Ofi z'ice 3,176,434 Patented Feb. 23, 1965 3,170,434 AUXILIARY POWER UNIT FOR INB'OARD CRUISERS John W..Ewing, 5112 41st Ave., Hyattsvilie, Md.

Filed Apr.,15, 1963, Ser. No. 272,951

. 7 Claims. (Cl. 11s .s

This invention relates to powered cruisers and particularly to. those of the single engine inboard cruiser type.

. The risk of being stranded by engine failure in a single engine cruiser has been a persistent one for many years, especially where the boating enthusiast takes extended trips which take him away from the areas where ready assistance is available in case of engine breakdown.

Heretofore, to provide a margin ofsafety it was necessary to purchase a twin engine cruiser to avoid the risk of being stranded by engine failure in a remote location far from assistance. Such cruisers are considerably more junction with the auxiliary motor, aninexpensive genera;

tor unit for such cruisers.-

It is a further object of my'invention tomechanically couple'a modified outboard motor-type unit to the propeller shaftof an inboard singlefengine cruiser to thereb provide a simple and inexpensive power sourcej It is also an object of my invention touse the mechanf ical pqwer from aportable motor unit to directly provide .auxiliary power to turn the propelleri shaft of a single,

engine inboard crui'serin the event of. engine failure.

- It .is-also an object of my invention to provide a mountirigarrangement for the auxiliarymotor which will permit the readyconnecting and disconnectingof the auxiliary,

motor to the propellerrshaft-as designed.

A further object of my invention isto provide a simple structural support arrangement for the, auxiliary motor I I within the hull of the cruiser so that it can be immediately moved into position and v coupled .to thepropeller shaft without difiiculty. 1 I i Another object of-my invention is'to provide a-gearing connection between thepower shaft of the auxiliary motor and the. propeller shaft of the fcruiser. ,7 A furtheriobject of my invention is to pi'ovide a simple inboard mechanical power arrangement for a' propeller shaft using an outboard type motor as a power source-instead of the conventional expensive inboard engine.

Other objects and advantages of my invention reside in the various parts of my apparatus as hereinafter fully set forth, andasspecifically pointed out in my claims, and illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIGURE 1 shows a stop view of. therear, of a cabin I 55 the detailsof construction, arrangement, combination of cruiser with the deck removed to showthearrangement of my invention.

FIGURE 2 shows a UREll. T

FIGURE 3 is a view similar to -l in an' alternativeimounting arrangement for an auxiliary motor is shown. .j. V

"EIGURE 4 shows a transverse sectional view-ofanincut-away elevational view of i the rear of the cruiser hull along the lines 2 2 of FIG- conventional keyway connection.

It is understood thatv an arrangement otherxthan a source, and the other used for an auxiliary emergency engine.

I Referring more particularly to the drawings, FIGURE 1 shows the boat hull generally indicated at 10 with sides 12 and 14, bottom 16, top deck 13 with a hatch 19, and

the rear thereof at 20.

The inboard engine generally indicated at 25 is connected to the propeller shaft through the clutch and gear shift assembly and extends through the bottom of the hull through the supporting sleeve bearing 32 and has a propeller 34 mounted on its end. The rudder of the cruiser is shown at 36 immediately behind the propeller.

Referring particularly to FIGURES 1 and 2 which show a pivotally supported motor generally indicated at M mounted on a cross support 40 which is hingeably connected to side 14 by a hinge 42 which is integral with depending flange 41 of angle iron 40, the hinge 42 being supported by an angle iron 43 integral with side14 of the hull.

The motor M is shown in operating position in full line and in a stored position in dotted outline. When the motor is in stored position, angle iron 44 which is attached to the rear 20 of the hull supports the free end of the pivotable cross support iron'40 by means of its horizontal flange 45 upon which the end is rested and held in place by a pin connection 46 through both members.

. In operable position, the horizontal motor support iron 40 rests upon the top of vertical angle iron 48 which in turn is supported by a bolt connection 50 to the horizon- 1 tal angle bracket 54 supported tothe bottom 16 of the hull by bolts 56. The flange 49 extends transverse to the hulland engages the under surface of the vertically disposed flange member of horizontaljm otor support 40, and

both members areheld together by a bolt connection 59. It can readily' be seen from an examination of FIG- URES 1 and 2 that the motor can be pivotally moved from the inactive-to the connected position withjlittledifliculty and the bracket arrangements described above will provide adequatesupport for the motor. 2 1

on the angle iron cross- The motor Mis held ii -position bar by motor. clampmembers 52 and 54.; The shaft 74 of motor M isrnodified' so that a'mechanical "connection can be made with the propeller shaft30. w Referring to the connection of the motor shaft 74 to the propeller shaft 30 as'shown in the" FIGUREZ, it will be noted that a shaft coupling C hasfidentical flanged unit 7 and is mounted between the end ofshaft 74 and gear shaft 94 of gear box 90. "A unit 76 is mounted on the end of shaft 74 and'a matching flanged unit 78 is mounted on they end of gear shaft 94. The'flanges of members 76 and 78 are simply fastened orbolted together in order to connect shafts 74 and 94 and provide a direct mechanical connec- 1 tion between the motor and to the gear box 90. p

7 As shown in FIGURE 2, the gear box encloses the'shaft 30 together with the gear38 as, well as pinion gear 92 and shaft 94. The gear 33 is fitted on the propeller shaft 30'and may be welded in'position or held thereon by a coupling and gear boxzassembly-might be provided to couple :themotorshaft-74 to'the propeller shaft'St). For example, sufiicient supportfor' an extended shaft 74' which :hasa spur" gear mounted at its end and in confnection with the. gear on the'propeller shaft might also be provided together-with a rigidsupport means-to hold theshaft .74. rigidly and in mesh with'propeller shaft gear. when the motor M" is being used.

It'is also possible with the gear boxarrangement described above to mount the motor Min a permanent fixed position above thegearbox, andmerelyidisconnect the shaft mounted couplingunits when the motor is not being used. 1.

Electrical power generator 90 is shown attached to side 12 and has a power pulley 94 which is connected by means of a belt 96 directly to the pulley 76 on shaft 74 of the motor M. This arrangement provides a simple and inexpensive means of generating electrical power for cruisers when they are moved away from-adocl and a source of inexpensive electrical power is not available. In operable position; the motor water intake is supplied through lines 66 and the exhaust from the engine fed through line 64 out through the rear 20. of the hull. Flexible throttle cable 62 is connected to the helm and permits the boat operator to cont'r'ol the r'riotof M from the normal running position in the cabin of the cruiser.

An alternative mounting arrangement for the motor is shown in FIGURE 3 wherein the motor is slid forward from a rear to a f orward operating position.

The motor is mounted on two' parallel support rods 102 and 104 by means ofrsupport brackets 120 and 124.

These 'brackets are slidingly mounted on; the parallel reds thi ough hollow engaging sleeve members'lfiz arid 126 whioh'are integral respectively with support brackets 12-0 and 124. The motor is locked in the desired position by means of wingbolts 128 and 130.

The parallel rods 102 and 104 are supported to the stern 20 by bracket support members ltlfi'and 10$,and

vat their othef end are su ported by a dress siippoit mere- 1 her 110 which in turn is supported by br'ackets 112 and 114 which are fastened to the sides of the hull.

Thisparallel support rail allows the use of a simple, sturdy mounting assembly for a power shaft which may beeirecnvely used in place of the gear box arrangement as generally described in the modification of FIGURE 1 and 2. The V support 140 and 142 shown mounted on the rails and in front of motor'M provides a simpledirect means for supporting the vertically disposed power shaft.

. eftheniotor-rigidly This arrangement permits the spur gear and the"be' vel gear. on the propeller shaft to be dig g teeny 'conneete merely by V sliding the: motor forward rate nested pesitionand sirnilarlyr sl idin g'thef V gsupport manowttes u; gear which is directly connected'at the end of'the modified shaft .74 :of the motor to move info and directly mesh with the bevel gear 38 on the propeller shaft. VMen b'er's 140. and i142 ofthe. Vsnppor tarere' spectiv'ely secured to the rails 102 and 104 through $1ldljf Qhlecollar' sleeves 146 and148.'-

members 140yand 1421ext end downwardly tola pointjfabove the spur gear held in engagement with the bevel gear 38 (not shownlon and 148 may be held-in desire engine i'n'neut ral; mechanicallyconnecting the. drive shaft of ltheauxiliary motor unitto the propeller shaft,30,'and

.then starting athe motor M, i

fashiontoflthe,centralpropllfshaft 245. 1

, I 4; V Y shaft 202 which is modified to carry a spur gear 204 at the end thereof. The shaft is rigidly held in vertical v position by means of a shaft support member 220 which diametrically opposedopenings therethrough of'pthe same 7 w diameter asnopenings 203.

is supported at either end by brackets 222 and-224 which spaced and aligned holes are bored through the shaft to. provide a' means of holding the spur gear 204 in either the lowered or raised position to respectfullyengageor to be held free ofthe intermediate gear1232.- Spur gear 204 is mounted on' a sleeve memberfi206 which has two A holding pirr207 is*in-. sertedthrough the'openings in the sleeve 206 and through a one or the other opening 203 in vertical shaft 202 to hold" the spur gear 204 in desired position 7 j A pillow block: 230 supports a shaft'and gear assembly connecting the gear 20 i to the gear 240 of the propeller" shaft 245. The intermediate connecting shaft 234 has 7 gears 232' and gears 236 which respectfully rnesh with gears 204 and 240.. V a V The auxiliary motor 250 is mounted in a fashion similar.

: to that for motor 200 and i'sjshown'with its shaft 252( tending downwardly through the strap bearing assembly 226 and supporting driving gear1254-in a raised position. This gear is mounted on'a sleeve 256 ofsimilar construe; tion as sleeve 206 asabove described, wherein. a connecti p. ing pin 257 passes through the sleeveand the higher of the i vertically disposed openings 253 iii'shaft 252 to hold; it in anupright disconnected position.

Whenitis desired to usethe aux1liaryrnotor- 250, the 'spur gear204 is raised 'to'j the upperpositio'n bypassing p the pin'207th'rou'gh the upper'hole' 20a andshafti202 to thereby disengagejpowershaft; and the gear 254 on shaft Pillotv 'block 260 support a e j which the gear 262 and the driving gear 2 6 6-i s conne'cted, so that a directdrive from motor250 to the gear 266 which Iwhe're they meet to form a circular collar (not shown). arrangement which engages power shaft74' of themotor' V M torigidly hold it iii-desired position so that the spur gear mounted directl yfon the end of the shaftiwill be I the propeller. shaft 20;; The slidable collar sleeves 146 positienby wingbolts as;

- employed for collar sleeves 12S and 130. p p The auxiliary drive is operated by merely putting the 252 ofithetauxiliary'motor -is loweredt'oen gage gear- 262,

lowerhole' 253 o f shaft 252-. 1 onnecting gear shaft'264 to and"held in position 'bythe pinconnection through'the V meshes with, gear 240 is" provided to turn propeller ,shaft In this'particularmodificationin which a tandem'ar it rangement o f two'outboard type motors is used, it"is also 2 possible to use the gear. box to which iboth unitscould be coupled instead of thedual connecting shaft arrangement 1 as described above. The appropriate gearratios are ad; justed to the shaft speeds o f -thefmotor, and if necessary intermediate and alternative-gearing arrangements may be used depending upon this" factor and.;factors1suchas3 mamas a An alternative f'arran gern'ent for}.tiiefimeh fiism* at FIGURE '4 may include the Imountingf qr jthe propeller shaft and gearing outside of the-hull'in a' wa'tertight casing with the shafts of the main and auxiliary units ex Both units are shown supported on; a mounting 'bar and 214. Mounting bar-210frn'ay be an angleziro n of similar construction cross support mefmber- 470 of FIGURES land 2 andthernotors may beclamped there- 5 'to in a fashion similar-to thatshown: in FIGURE :ZIfor the mounting of motor M Main power unit 200 has a vertically disposed power 210 which is supported atreither' end .by brackets 212 1' tending through'gthe hull and into the casing to engage-the.

gearing mechanismj 1 V a With regardto the modificationsof my invention set .forth iabove it 'is not necessary that the auxiliary. motor;

bemounted below deck. Small cruisers may have insufii cient clearaneabetweeriithe deckand bottomof the e T to receivea'n auxiliary outboard type: motor. I In this n a stance a mountingassembly may be provided to support the motorao'ove deek, provision being made for the motor shaft to. extend through thedeck to mechanically connectwith the propeller shaft. Theengine may,bedi scon-' dff :the mounting-assembly in thisi' n a r- 3 l .stored inanother part of theboat until needed; f I

1 'The arrangements; disclosedjaboveare highly'fadvan- 'tageousdue-.to'wtheir simplicity, permitting re ady installation in existing cruiser construction for a relatively inexpensive sum.

The auxiliary motor also provides a means to substantially reduce the gasoline consumption for the cruiser when proceeding at trolling speed for an extended length of time.

While the invention has been described, it will be understood that it is capable of further modifications and this application is intended to cover any variations, uses, or adaptations of the invention following in general, the principle of the invention and including such departures from the present disclosure as come within known or customary practice within the art to which this invention pertains, and as may be applied to the essential features hereinbefore set forth and as fall within the scope of the invention or the limits of the appended claims.

Having thus described my invention, I claim the followmg:

1.A boat with an auxiliary power unit comprising a boat hull having an inboard engine with a propeller shaft connected thereto, and a portable, light weight self powered outboard-type auxiliary motor, support means within said hull on which said auxiliary motor is mounted so that it can be moved from a stored inactive position along a predetermined path to an active position, and having a vertical stub shaft aligned with the propeller shaft, power transmission means for mechanically connecting the propeller and motor power shaft, the propeller shaft being disengageable from the inboard engine to allow free rotation thereof, whereby the auxiliary motor can be connected mechanically to the propeller shaft to drive it freely of the inboard engine.

2. A boat with an auxiliary power unit comprising a boat having an inboard engine with the propeller shaft connected thereto, a portable, light weight self powered outboard type auxiliary motor mounted in said hull on a pivoting support structure so that the said outboard motor may be moved along a predetermined path from a stored out of the way position to an active position, the said outboard motor when in active position having a power shaft in alignment with the propeller shaft, a driving gear member mounted on the power shaft, and a gear mounted on the propeller shaft, said gears being aligned and in mesh and said power shaft being vertically disposed when said motor is in active position, the propeller shaft being disengageable from the inboard engine so that the auxiliary motor when in active position can mechanically drive the propeller shaft.

3. A boat with an auxiliary power unit comprising a boat hull having an inboard engine with a propeller shaft connected thereto, a motor support means within said hull and integral therewith having a portable auxiliary motor mounted thereon, said support means including means for permitting the motor to be moved along a predetermined path from an inactive stored out of the way position to an active position, the motor when in active position having a drive shaft in alignment with said propeller shaft, said propeller shaft having gear means connected thereto, coupling means for connecting the power shaft of the motor to the gear means when the motor is in active position, the propeller shaft being disengageable from the inboard engine for independent operation when the auxiliary motor is used to drive the propeller shaft.

4. A boat with an auxiliary power unit as set forth in claim 3 wherein the support means has two parallel support rails along which the motor may be moved from the inactive stored position to the active position, the motor having two bracket members integral therewith which are slideably connected to said rails.

5. A boat with an auxiliary power unit comprising a boat hull having an inboard engine with a propeller shaft connected thereto, said propeller shaft extending angularly downward and through said hull at a point adjacent the stern and having a propeller at the end thereof, a light weight, portable outboard-type auxiliary motor, support means within said hull on which said auxiliary motor is mounted so that it can be moved from a stored inactive position along a predetermined path to an active position, said auxiliary motor having a vertically disposed power shaft which has a driver gear thereon, said propeller shaft having a gear integral therewith on a section within the hull and adapted to be engaged by the driver gear of the power shaft, means for disconnecting the propeller shaft from the inboard engine, and power shaft holding means to keep the driver gear on the power shaft in position so that it meshes with the gear on the propeller shaft, permitting the auxiliary motor to drive the propeller shaft when the inboard engine is not used.

6. A boat with an auxiliary power unit as set forth in claim 5 wherein a small electrical generator is disposed adjacent the modified power shaft and power transmission means connects both the electrical generator and the power shaft of the auxiliary motor.

7. A boat with an auxiliary power unit as set forth in claim 5 wherein said motor is mounted on two parallel rails and the power shaft holding means comprises a collar support structure which fits around the power shaft near the driver gear and is connected with said rails.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,181,988 5/16 Breitung -0.5 2,310,801 2/43 Hill 290-1 X 2,378,589 6/45 Slack et al 11537 X FOREIGN PATENTS 410,03 1 5 34 Great Britain.

MILTON BUCHLER, Primary Examiner.

ANDREW H. FARRELL, Examiner. 

1. A BOAT WITH AN AUXILIARY POWER UNIT COMPRISING A BOAT HULL HAVING AN INBOARD ENGINE WITH A PROPELLER SHAFT CONNECTED THERETO, AND A PORTABLE, LIGHT WEIGHT SELF POWERED OUTBOARD-TYPE AUXILIARY MOTOR; SUPPORT MEANS WITHIN SAID HULL ON WHICH SAID AUXILIARY MOTOR IS MOUNTED SO THAT IT CAN BE MOVED FROM A STORED INACTIVE POSITION ALONG A PREDETERMINED PATH TO AN ACTIVE POSITION, AND HAVING A VERTICAL STUB SHAFT ALIGNED WITH THE PROPELLER SHAFT, POWER TRANSMISSION MEANS FOR MECHANICALLY CONNECTING THE PROPELLER AND MOTOR POWER SHAFT, THE PROPELLER SHAFT BEING DISENGAGEABLE FROM THE INBOARD ENGINE TO ALLOW FREE ROTATION THEREOF, WHEREBY THE AUXILIARY MOTOR CAN BE CONNECTED MECHANICALLY TO THE PROPELLER SHAFT TO DRIVER IT FREELY OF THE INBOARD ENGINE. 